Open access

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has introduced a bill that would make significant changes to peer review and public access policies for federally funded research, such as requiring that a “taxpayer advocate” sit on every grant review panel. Coincident with the bill introduction, Paul convened a hearing at which he asserted that the amount of “silly” studies funded by federal agencies is evidence of a need to reform the system.

The National Academies committee tasked with exploring how to move toward an open science enterprise held a symposium on Sept. 18 where a range of stakeholders discussed how to expand open access to scholarly publications, improve standards and best practices for sharing data, and better manage data repositories.

The National Academies has launched a new study on how to move toward an open science enterprise. At last week’s kickoff meeting, participants discussed issues for the committee to consider, including scientific norms, incentives, and the differences between scientific disciplines.

The House has passed two bills to overhaul how the Environmental Protection Agency uses and reviews science. Proponents say the legislation would increase public trust and stakeholder participation in EPA’s decisions, but critics assert the bills would prevent the agency from using the best available science and academic expertise.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) has introduced a bill that would set standards for how federal agencies consider scientific findings when developing regulations. At a hearing he convened on the subject, he called for increased transparency and accessibility of scientific inputs to regulatory decisions.

The National Science and Technology Council has increased the pace of its report releases during the waning days of the Obama administration. Recent releases address national disaster preparedness and resilience, open access to federally supported research, Arctic research, and the use of alternatives to radioisotopic sources, among other policy priorities.

Congressional negotiators released the FY 2016 annual spending bill, which would boost year-over-year funding to the science agencies and offices, ranging from a 1.6 percent increase for the National Science Foundation to an 11.6 percent increase for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The National Institutes of Health are seeking comments on the implementation of the "NIH Revised Policy on Enhancing Public Access to Archived Publications Resulting From NIH-Funded Research." This will occur at an all-day meeting to be held in Bethesda, MD on March 20. In addition, an NIH website will accept public input through March 17 for comments to be considered at this meeting. NIH will later solicit additional public comment for sixty days. This notice also importantly states that "as of April 7, 2008, applicable articles resulting from NIH funds must be submitted t

As part of a larger review of the federal government’s data policies, the National Science Board heard from three speakers at a meeting earlier this month about issues relating to public access to research results. Reflecting other discussions on this matter, there was consensus that increasing the public’s access to research results is desirable, but a range of opinion on how best to accomplish it.

A survey released in June of more than 1,400 adults (including 646 parents of children in kindergarten through 12th grade) finds a broad public consensus on the importance of science education and mixed opinions on how well schools are preparing students on the subject.

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